The difference between market exchange and gift exchange becomes clear in the relative importance of single transactions. The market does not operate to connect transactions with each other. That is the basis of market myopia. Each interaction in the marketplace must stand on its own, like the impact of an advertising campaign which must presume each impression has to stand alone, that the messaging cannot build from ad to ad.
Interactions in gift economies build on each other. No single interaction is important. The value of the interaction lies in the effect it has on the relationship, not on the worth of what is being exchanged. The presumption in gift economies is that the exchanges will sort themselves out in the long run.
Relationships strive for the expression of desert rather than for the maximization of welfare.
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